NFLPA Demands Probe Into Eagles' Care of Hurts — SkimNews
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- NFLPA called for a "full investigation" into Hurts' medical care in a Tuesday statement, noting the league had previously informed the union it did not plan to review the case
- Jalen Hurts, 28, is expected to miss the rest of the season after further testing confirmed deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli — blood clots that traveled from his legs to his lungs
- NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills defended the Eagles' process from the owners' meetings as "very conservative, very patient-focused and appropriately guarded," calling the idea that external factors put a player in harm's way "nonsense"
- An Oct. 10 ultrasound in London revealed Hurts' superficial blood clot; Eagles medics and London-based doctors cleared him to play against the Jaguars, but a follow-up ultrasound after returning to Philadelphia showed clot movement, ruling him out against Carolina
- NFL officials confirmed they were in contact with Eagles medical staff and Cleveland Clinic London throughout the process; Sills said the league pre-plans international game medical care one to two years in advance
- Sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that Hurts' clot is classified as "provoked" because he was cleated in the calf, and that he was hospitalized late at night in London, returning to the team hotel at 3 a.m. before napping at the stadium ahead of pregame
- Coach Nick Sirianni expressed "full faith" in the team's medical experts, said he "misses" Hurts after six years together, and confirmed backup Tanner McKee will take over
Why it matters: The NFLPA's public demand turns a medical privacy dispute into a formal labor-relations challenge, with the union openly contradicting the league's assertion that no review is needed. Hurts went from cleared to play one week to out for the season the next, putting the Eagles' London-week medical protocol under a microscope that could pressure the NFL to standardize how teams handle blood clot findings on international game days.
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